


Fighting for You

by HinaSaku



Category: Book of Life (2014)
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance, Suicidal Thoughts, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9855332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HinaSaku/pseuds/HinaSaku
Summary: It used to be all about her, but then it became all about them.





	1. Chapter 1

Manolo didn't know when he first started liking his best friend as more than a friend, but he guessed it happened some time after Maria left town. Even through all of their training (Manny with his bull fighting and Joaquin training to be some sort of soldier), the two had managed to spend the little time they snuck away from the mayor and Manolo's father. For some reason, as they got older, Manolo found himself clutching his best friend's hand when he was scared or nervous. Sometime after that, it got to the point where the two would hold hands just to do so. It was normal for them to hold hands, even in public. They weren't a couple though. They were just friends, but he wanted that to change that. However he lacked the confidence that his best friend had. Courage he had, but the nerve to walk up to Joaquin and confessed his undying love…that was a problem. He feared that Joaquin would either laugh at him or completely ignore him. The thought made him afraid of losing the only friend he had.

Besides, what if Joaquin still _**liked** _ Maria? It had been years since Maria had been seen or heard from. He outgrew his crush on her, but he wasn't sure if his amigo had yet. Whenever they hung out, neither of them discussed Maria except after she left. A year later, their minds were on training sessions more often now and complaining about them, although Joaquin often bragged more than he complained. He hated to think that his friend still wanted Maria. How could he love someone that was gone for years and probably changed so much that she could be barely recognizable? Ever since he figured out that he loved Joaquin, he bore a lot of dislike for Maria.

"Hey, Manny!" Joaquin shouted as Manolo stared out the window lost in his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh hey, Joaquin!"

"You coming or what?"

"For what?"

"You forgot already?" his friend raised a brow. "We were supposed to be **_'practicing'_** …remember?"

"Oh! I'm coming!" Manolo quickly put on his shoes and grabbed his guitar, a gift from Maria from when he liked her. He would have gotten his own, but knew his father would make a fuss over it if he did.

* * *

As he watched Joaquin spar with another soldier, he noticed how gracefully his best friend moved. He had so much confidence within each movement. He wished he possessed as much confidence as him. He was always doubting himself, unlike Joaquin.

"You watching, Manny?" he asked looking hopeful.

"Of course!" he smiled as Joaquin took down the larger male he was fighting.

The sparring session went on for an hour and a half before he was done and they could hang out now. Luckily for him that he had convinced his father to let him have a day off to practice with Joaquin, even though they were really going to goof off. The two ran off to their secret spot inside of a large tree.

"Man, I'm pooped!" Joaquin said sitting down and reading a comic book while Manolo tuned his guitar. "I wish I didn't have to train so hard."

"Really? I thought you liked it."

"I do, but damn he's really pushing me to the extreme." he complained rubbing his shoulder. "My back hurts like a bitch!"

"I wish you would quit cursing like a sailor."

"Well that's who I am...like it or not."

"I guess. Want me to massage your shoulders?"

"Sure. Why not?" Joaquin laid down on his back and Manolo massaged his back. He felt himself turn bright red as Joaquin started moaning really sexually. "Oh yeah…right there…shit…keep going…oooh…aaah…mmmph!"

"Hey! Stop that!" Manolo snapped, although he was enjoying the noise himself.

"I can't help it. Your hands are so…ah…fuck! Right there! Your hands are so amazing! Right there…mmm! Harder! What's wrong with me letting you know I like what you're doing?"

"Because it sounds like I'm…you know…" he was turning bright red.

Joaquin sat down and looked at his friend, trying to comprehend what he was getting at. He smirked when he figured what he meant. "What?" he whispered seductively in his friend's ear. "Fucking me?"

"Don't say it like that!" he squeaked jumping back, blushing even harder than before.

"Oh come on, Manolo. I was only messing around." he laughed. Manolo didn't answer as he turned even redder. Joaquin wrapped an arm around his best friend. "It's not like you actually wanna do it…or do you? I don't blame you if you do. I am pretty sexy after all and I'm a virgin, so my ass is pretty tight and it'd feel so good..."

"I'm leaving!" Manolo said firmly as he pushed away his friend. Joaquin didn't know it, but his best friend was sporting an erection from his crush's dirty talk and the way he whispered in his ear.

"Did I say something?" Joaquin asked densely.

"I've gotta go!" he snapped grabbing his bag and leaving the tree.

"Wait!" the taller teen grabbed his friend's arm. "Did I say something?"

"Let me go!"

"Manolo, what...?" Suddenly he noticed his friend's "problem" and let go quickly as he turned bright red.

* * *

Manolo ran as fast as he could back home, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. He ignored his father's question about why he was home and not with Joaquin. Once he was upstairs, he cried silently for a long time underneath the covers. What if Joaquin hated him now? Boys weren't supposed to think such things about each other, especially their best friends. Joaquin was probably disgusted and wouldn't want to be around him anymore. Manolo hadn't asked to feel this way, but he did. Now their friendship was ruined and it was all his fault for being different.


	2. Chapter 2

A few weeks later and Manolo had managed to completely avoid his crush. He was upset that he had to do so because of what happened a few weeks ago. His guitar was still in the tree to his knowledge and he feared seeing Joaquin, so he avoided going in there and retrieving it. His fingers itched to play it, to sing and play to get rid of those emotions and express them and make him feel better. Alas, he couldn't.

'This is stupid!' he told himself as he left his house and made his way to the store to pick up some bread. 'I can't avoid him forever! He's going to ask me about it sooner or later…besides…if he wants to find someone, he'll find them.'

If Joaquin did seek him and find ask him what that…thing…was all about…what could he say? He sure as heck couldn't say he had the hots for him that was for sure! Maybe he could say that his ears were causing it. He had seen somewhere (probably in one of those dirty magazines Joaquin had showed him once that he had stolen from underneath General Posada's floor boards) that the ears could be used to cause the body to melt like a bowl full of jello and easily turn someone on. That would probably the best option he had right now. Just as he was about to enter the grocery store, he heard his name being called.

He felt his face go red when he saw Joaquin rushing over. "Hey, Manolo! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"H-hey, Joaquin." he said avoiding his friend's eyes. Joaquin didn't seem upset or angry. As a matter of fact, he looked really happy. Why?

"I have something for you, but I can't give it to you right now." he gestured to the old lady across the street that was holding two very big bags. "I'll come over to your house later on tonight."

Before he could ask what for, the taller teen had run back over to the old lady and grabbed one of the bags. What he wanted to give him, he didn't know. He couldn't think of anything on the spot, but maybe he would later.

* * *

It was 10:30 p.m. and Joaquin still had not showed up. Had he changed his mind? Manolo wasn't sure. He figured that his crush had changed his mind, so he drifted off to sleep. Around midnight, he heard something knocking on his window. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he went on over and saw Joaquin at his window. He opened up the window and allowed his best friend to crawl in.

"What are you doing here so late?" he scolded. "Everyone's asleep and I was too."

"I know, I know…I just wanted to give you this back." Joaquin pulled out Manolo's guitar. "I figured you missed it. You took off so fast…"

Manolo turned red and rubbed the back of his head. "L-listen, Joaquin...I'm really sorry for…"

"It's no big deal." Joaquin grinned. "It happens to me all the time!"

"I didn't need to know that." he said teasingly. It actually made him feel a lot better.

"Well best friends tell each other everything…which is another reason why I'm here." Joaquin said looking a bit nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh?" Manolo said noticing the look on his amigo's face.

"You might want to sit down for this…and you've gotta promise that you won't beat me over the head with that guitar."

"I won't." he said sitting down and wondering why on earth his best friend would think he would hit him. He never got that mad at anyone before, not even when Joaquin was being super boastful.

"Okay…" He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but then shut it. He did this 3 more times while clinching his fists before he mumbled to himself, "I can't do it…"

He made his way towards the window. "Sorry for bothering you."

"No, wait!" Manolo said a bit too loudly. He quickly locked his door in case his father got up and he grabbed Joaquin's arm. "You can tell me. I can tell it's really bothering you and you know you want to say it."

Joaquin just stood there twiddling his fingers and looked over his shoulders outside. "I don't know…what if…what if you hate me forever if I tell you?"

"Nothing you do could ever make me hate you." Manolo reassured him as he placed both his hands on Joaquin's muscular shoulders. "You're my best friend! "

Joaquin took a deep breath and before Manolo knew it, they were kissing. It shocked him to the core and he just stood there letting him kiss him. When the taller teen pulled away, he whispered. "I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

Manolo was completely caught off guard and it took a while for him to take it all in at once. This was almost too good to be true. He pinched himself and found himself wide awake. He had just kissed him and told him that he loved him. "Joaquin, you're not pulling my leg are you?"

"I…no…no I'm not." Joaquin was turning a bit red in the face. "I don't know why, but whenever I'm around you…I get these feelings I used to when I was around Maria…but different somehow. When I'm around you, I feel like I could kiss you and hold you all the time…like I could never let you go. Whenever you're gone, I feel…sad. I want to protect you and I'd do anything for you like…like…I don't know! I guess I'm confused or something. I don't know if this is even what it is!"

"Joaquin relax." He pulled his best friend onto the bed to sit with him. "I understand. I…I've been having these feeling too."

"You have?" Joaquin sounded relieved. "How long?"

"Not too long after Maria left." He admitted. "Besides Maria, you're the only one I've ever wanted."

"I'm glad." The taller male smiled. "I was afraid to tell you before, but I wasn't sure if you were over Maria or not…hell I wasn't even sure if you even liked men."

"Well now that you know the truth, what now?" Manolo asked.

"Damn, I don't know. Maybe we're a thing now?" he sounded unsure. "I mean if you want to be a thing."

"Y-yes! I mean yeah sure." Manolo blushed. In the inside he was celebrating. Finally!

"Posada isn't going to be happy about this. I mean I don't care that he wouldn't like this but still. He's always saying I'm like a son to him and expects me to marry Maria once she comes back and have children."

'Not if I can help it.' The younger male thought as he squeezed the other man's hand. "We'll figure something out."

"I guess so. I'd better get going. I've got training early so…yeah. I'll see you later." The taller male departed as quickly as he had come. Manolo was happy. So Joaquin didn't like Maria romantically anymore! It was a dream come true! He could rest easy now.

For the next few years, the two remained close, but behind closed doors they were even closer. Touches, kisses, and adoring words were exchanged in private, but other than that their relationship basically stayed the same. The only part was that Joaquin was one horny son of a bitch. Manolo kept telling him that he would have sex with him when he was ready. Joaquin eventually learned to drop it, but still kept hope that it would happen. Speaking of hoping, Joaquin was hoping that once he returned to his hometown, the next time he left again he would go with Manolo and travel around with him. Joaquin always had new stories to tell and he felt bad that his he couldn't experience it for himself.

Manolo had never been outside of their town before so it be a big change for him and it could even help him to write his songs which were always great in Joaquin ears. If he liked it enough and wanted to, the two of them could run off together and no longer be forced to hide their love for each other. Manolo didn't mind it, but Joaquin seriously did. He longed to show people that he had only one person he loved in his life and that one person was his and nobody else's. There were times he wanted to strangle women for even glancing at Manolo with interest or to passionately kiss the man in public to show that he was his. Alas if he did that, life would be horrible for them for as long as they were in town. Everything both had worked so hard for and the approval they had finally gotten weren't going to matter anymore. Yes it had to be kept a secret, but one day Joaquin hoped they could get away and be whoever they wanted to be away from disapproving eyes.

When the day finally came for Joaquin to return home, his first thought was to pop in on his best friend and boyfriend, but he was feeling tired. After a long day of defeating bandits, he decided that he could wait another day or, if not that, he could wait a few hours after a good nap. Just as Joaquin was about to climb the staircase, he heard a knock on the door. He groaned. Did someone really have to come visit right after his travels? Surely the thought that he might be tired should have crossed their minds a few times.

'If its Manolo, that's one thing. If it's anybody else, they can just fuck off.' he tiredly made his way to the door, but not before straightening himself up first to look presentable. When he opened the door, he found that it was General Posada. Oh joy.

"Good afternoon, Joaquin." the older man said with a huge grin on his face. He looked as if he about to burst about something exciting. "Everything went well?"

"Yeah, but it's got me really tired. I was about take a…"

"Good, good. Very good. I've got something I want to talk to you about." the short man said very quickly interrupting whatever his most prized soldier was about to say and inviting himself right into his house.

"Okay. I guess the nap can wait." Joaquin rolled his eyes. What he wanted, he'd better make it fast. He wanted to get a quick nap in before seeing Manolo. Looks like he would have to wait another day.

Settling down in the living room and Posada helping himself to some wine, Joaquin's bottom barely hit the seat cushion when Posada dropped the bomb on him. "So when are you going to get married? You're not asexual are you?"

"W-what?" Joaquin was slightly thrown off by the question. "Why would you say those things?"

"I've been keeping a close eye on you ever since you were a child, Joaquin. It's not hard to notice how the ladies look at you, yet I've never seen you approach them. I was thinking if you're not approaching if you might be having any troubles, if you just don't want a significant other, or if you're waiting for someone." Here Posada looked very hopeful. "Maybe someone overseas?"

"Well…I…uh…"

"Of course you are! Why else are you ignoring all of those lustful stares from all of those pretty young women?"

He started to say that he was seeing someone, but kept his mouth shut. There was no way he was revealing his secret to Posada or anybody else. "Yeah sure."

"I knew it! Well rest assured she's coming to the bullfight coming up. It'll give you plenty of time to prepare." Before Joaquin could say anything, Posada thanked the man for hosting him and left to prepare for his daughter's return.

'Why the heck would he want me to marry Maria? She's been gone for more than 5 years and I've lost interest. Maybe I should have gotten a fake girlfriend or at least made one up. I can't marry her when I love Manolo. Manolo would rather have sex with me where everyone can see me than me marry someone else! On second thought…'

Joaquin just shook his head. He'd just tell Posada that he wasn't interested…but first a nap.

Meanwhile Manolo was looking for some song lyrics he had written for his boyfriend when he found a small box that he had nearly forgotten about. He picked it up and opened it up. Inside was a wedding ring that he had purchased for the soldier. He had gotten it outside of town due to the fact that he didn't want anybody telling his father about it or having the man see it himself. The only girl Manolo had a chance of being a cover up for him was Maria, a girl he had long ago lost interest in.

The reason why he hadn't give the ring to Joaquin wasn't even due to nerves. I mean nerves were a problem and everything, but it was mostly because of his travels. Just when Manolo was about to propose, Joaquin had to leave on urgent business. After his bull fighting match, he would do it quick before anything else could happen. He closed the box and place in underneath his mattress. He smiled to himself thinking of how happy Joaquin would be about it. At the same time, he worried a little. Joaquin had once talked about having children that would become the perfect soldier just like him and his father. That was when they were much younger, way before they were together. He had said it again once a couple of years ago. Manolo had pointed out that he couldn't have children and they were both men. Joaquin said they would worry about that later.

Manolo would like to have a child one day, but he had a feeling that Joaquin wanted a child that had his genes. Whenever he thought about having a child with Joaquin, it saddened him that he was not able to bare children. As much as he would treat an adopted child with as much love as a child that was his, it bothered him that he was unable to have a child with Joaquin's handsome features, his gracious brown eyes, and his brave nature. This of course came from another conversation from a few years back. Of course they could ask a woman to mother their child, but it seemed that everyone woman who saw Joaquin was madly in love with him or liked him a lot. Besides, there was no way he was letting some woman lay his hands on his boyfriend or himself least she take him away.

Once the day of the bull fighting match came, he was nervous. He was afraid of messing up everything and dishonoring his family. His grandmother doubted that he could kill the bull and deep down Manolo doubted that himself too. His father and Joaquin had given him a lot of pointers to dodge, attack, and kill. Manolo had tried his best to memorize what they had taught him, but only remembered just a little. He had to do his best. Not only for his family and boyfriend, but also for himself. He had to prove himself that he could do this and not give in.

Before the match started, he looked into the ring watching another fighter in the ring. That guy didn't seem nervous or scared. He had obviously done this before and knew what he was doing. Manolo was scared. What if he messed up and hurt? What if he couldn't kill the bull? It was easy to listen to his father's matches and his boyfriend's battles, but hard to place himself in their places.

'If I mess up, dad's going to give me crap. I can't kill a bull! I've never even harmed an animal in my entire life.' Manolo began playing with his fingers. He wished he was as confident as his boyfriend and father. 'I can't do this! I can't do this! I have to get out of here before…'

"There you are!"

"J-joaquin!" Manolo jumped, surprised. "You scared me, you jerk!"

"Sorry about that. You look tense. Are you okay?"

"Not really." Manolo sighed. "I…I…I'm nervous."

"You'll do just fine." He smiled placing his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders. "After all you did have pretty good teachers, namely me."

"That's true…but…" He looked away. "I'm…scared."

"What for?"

"What if I can't do it? What if I miss and the bull gets me? What if I get killed? What if I…"

"Don't worry about it, Manny. You'll do just fine. I promise. I'm your lucky charm, remember?"

"Since when?"

"Whatever man. Look, don't worry about it. You'll do great. You've been practicing ever since we were kids. You're more ready than most people are. You're gonna be great!" He smiled. "Trust me."

"Thanks." Although his boyfriend's words comforted him, he was still nervous about the match. "I'll try my best."

The two of them stared into each other's eyes and just went it seemed they were about to kiss, they quickly stopped themselves just as they heard Manolo's dad coming.

"Manolo, there you are. Oh hello, Joaquin. You here to wish my son luck?"

"Of course. He's my best friend." said the soldier. "I'd better let you get ready, Manolo. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. I'll see you later…" Manolo then mumbled to himself. "…if I even survive this."

After a quick prep talk with his father, Manolo decided that he'd give it his all despite feeling sick and even feeling as if he was going to faint. Just as the last match seemed like it was about to end, his father mentioned that Maria was back in town. Manolo just stared at his father with a look that said "does it look like I care?"

"What's wrong, Manolo? You don't seem too happy about her being back."

"No, I'm happy. I'm just so nervous, I forgot how to respond." Manolo said blankly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine." he smiled at his son. "Who knows, maybe you'll impress Maria. I remember how much you used to like her."

"Yeah." Manolo said looking at the ground. 'Key words: used to.'

"Looks like the match is almost done. Good luck out there son."

"Yeah…luck." he mumbled as his dad walked off. Manolo hoped that he wouldn't mess this up. As he walked into the ring, he could only prayed that Joaquin and his father's training had paid off and nothing could go wrong.


	4. Chapter 4

Things ended up going horrible. At first he was doing fine, up until he was about to land the final blow onto the bull. He made eye contact with Maria and her big puppy eyes obviously begging him not to do it. Before he knew it, he had forfeited what he had been training to do for years and for what? A girl he had long gotten over and really didn't feel anything towards. What the hell was wrong with him?!*

As expected his father was disappointed in him and flat out said that he dishonored their whole family**. Joaquin…well Manolo wasn't sure what he thought. It couldn't be anymore hurtful than what his father said, could it? He hoped not. Maria came over after his father basically told him that he wasn't his son anymore.

"Manolo that was amazing what you did back there!" She said smiling as if she'd won a million dollars. "I'm glad you didn't kill the bull. That was very noble of you."

"Yeah." He said putting on a fake smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing except my dad hates me now." mumbled the young man.

"He doesn't hate you. Even if he wanted you to do the opposite of what you just did,  _I_  think you did the right thing. He'll get over it." she assured him. "Anyways, he's still your dad. He'll always love you."

"Thanks. That means a lot coming from you." That was a lie since he didn't give a damn about what she thought. If it wasn't for those huge, beautiful eyes and that gorgeous face…

"Why don't you stop by my house later and we can all catch up? Just the three of us."

"3?"

"Yeah. Me, you, and Joaquin."

"Maybe another day. I'm pretty tired." Although he would do anything not to go home, he was indeed pretty tired and miserable.

"Well I hope you feel better. I'll see later."

"Yeah. Later." Manolo watched as his childhood friend walked off.

Although he had no interest in her, he had to admit that she had gotten very pretty over the years not that she wasn't before. Luckily Joaquin was a loyal boyfriend and they had a strong relationship. Speaking of Joaquin…

"Manolo, what the hell happened back there? You had it down until the end. It was me, wasn't it? I got you too nervous, didn't I?"

"No, it wasn't you." Manolo assured his boyfriend. "I just saw Maria and…"

"Oh right. I forgot she liked animals." Joaquin looked relieved that he wasn't the reason Manolo couldn't kill the bull while Manolo just nodded. "Well better luck next time."

"Next time…right." He mumbled. "I don't think there's going to be a next time, Joaquin."

"I see." Joaquin looked over to where Maria was. The young woman was having a conversation with an old woman. "She sure is a site for sore eyes. She's gotten prettier over the years, huh, Manolo?"

"Yeah, she has, not that she wasn't before." Manolo raised a brow at the taller male.

"I've heard quite a bit about her from General Posada. She's done well over the past few years. You should hear what they say about her. She sounds like the perfect wife in every way."

"Oh really?"

"Not that she has anything on you." Joaquin said rather quickly. "I'm just saying if we or one of us or anybody else were going after her, she'd make the perfect woman."

"Whatever." Manolo rolled his eyes, dismissing it as he was too upset to care. "Is it alright if I stay at your place for a little while? I don't think I can face my dad now."

"Sure. I wouldn't want to face your dad either." he admitted.

Back at Joaquin's house, the two laying in bed with Manolo laying on Joaquin's chest listening to the rhythm of his heart beating. He found it a bit relaxing and soon he drifted off to sleep in Joaquin's strong arms. Meanwhile Joaquin's thoughts drifted off to what Posada and he had been discussing. Posada had deeply expressed that he wanted Joaquin to marry his daughter over the past few weeks and even went into great detail about the things the various that had been said about Maria. He had thought about discussing what to do with Manolo, but with what just happened he decided it could wait.

What was the point of bringing up something that shouldn't even be considered between two people who loved each other? He wasn't planning on leaving Manolo for Maria, even if she had a cute smile, a beautiful face, and a very lovely body…he shook his head. Was he really thinking about those things? Sure Maria was pretty and from what he heard she was pretty amazing, but his heart laid with Manolo. The two of them had been together and known each other far longer than they had Maria. As pretty and nice as Maria was, he wouldn't push Manolo aside for anything else in the world.

However he did have to consider their situation more than ever after the constant egging on of Posada to propose to Maria. The biggest problem were that they were both men. Had Manolo or himself had been born a woman or even looked like one, it wouldn't be a problem. If one of them were a woman, they could get married without a care in the world. However they were both men and expected to marry women to carry on their name and their child. Even if they did get married or whatever, he was sure they'd be a disgrace to their families and even the town they lived in. San Angel was their home and Joaquin enjoyed coming home back to their peaceful town after a week or so of adventures. The best part was coming home to Manolo.

Joaquin didn't have any family in San Angel besides Posada, who served as a father figure after his father died and his mother moved away***, and Manolo of course. Moving away wasn't going to be as bad for him since there wasn't really anything tying him down completely. Manolo on the other had his father and grandmother, both of whom had raised him after his mother died. Taking him away from San Angel was the only logical solution to be free to live how they pleased even if it meant leaving the only place they'd lived all of their life. He had thought about asking Manolo what he thought about leaving with him, but of course never got around to it. Between Manolo's bull fighting, going off and fighting bandits and stopping thieves, training other soldiers, and Posada coming over and giving him reasons to marry Maria, Joaquin barely had the time to pull the guy to the side and talk about it.

Even if he had the time, Manolo didn't. He was preparing for his bull match and was already stressed about it. Bothering Manolo about if he wanted to leave town with him and leave somewhere else, was a huge decision that had to be thought about and could seriously mess up his concentration. Now that this was over and done, Manolo was still in no condition to talk and think about it clearly. He was clearly pretty upset over what just happened. It just wasn't the time to ask.

As he watched the shorter man sleeping on top of him, he ran he fingers though his boyfriend's silky brown hair. He didn't want their relationship to end after all this time. Manolo shifted around in the bed and rolled off of his boyfriend. "Joaquin…"

"Huh?"

"What? Did you say something?"

"You said my name in your sleep."

"Oh. Sorry." Manolo turned to his boyfriend.

"You okay?"

"Not really…" He began tracing his fingers on his boyfriend's chest. "Thanks for letting me sleep over."

"You know you're welcome to stay here any time, Manolo." Joaquin rubbed his boyfriend's back. "As a matter of fact, why don't you move in with me?"

"You?" Manolo looked up at him. "I…you know I can't."

"Why not?"

"We've discussed this before, Joaquin." Manolo rolled his eyes. "My dad and grandmother need me at home. Besides, it wouldn't look right."

"Come on, please?"

"Maybe I could stay for a few days, but no more than a few."

"It's better than nothing I guess. It'd be better if you came and lived with me. It's lonely enough in this house."

"Mansion." corrected his boyfriend.

"Whatever. It's all the same for me." There was a moment of silence between them until Joaquin spoke up. "Manny?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too." Manolo pressed his lips against his boyfriend's lips. "I don't know why you'd say that. I know you love me."

"I know…it's just…I wanted you to know that. I don't need a reason to tell you, do I?"

"I guess not, but it is nice when you tell me that." Manolo closed his eyes. They were quiet for a moment. "I'm not getting rid of it."

"Getting rid of what?"

"Don't be stupid, Joaquin."

"Oh that." Joaquin rubbed the back of his head looking embarrassed. "Are you sure you don't wanna…"

"Do I need to leave you be for a minute?"

"No, it's alright. I'll be fine."

"Joaquin, I'll still be here when you get here. Besides, I don't feel like getting poked in the back."

"This could be a lot more fun if you'd let me actually have sex with you."

"I'm sure it would be, Joaquin, but not until I'm ready, remember?"

"Right. Shit." He sighed and got out of bed. Damn Manolo and his ability to last for so long. Manolo was lucky that the man was a loyal boyfriend. Otherwise he would have happily gone after the cute girls that tried wooing him over the years. He smirked a little at the various memories.

While the girls at home he mainly ignored, without Manolo around to constantly remind him that he was taken the many females during his travels freely flirted with him. He remembered them touching all over his muscles and abs, complimenting his glorious mustache, and admiring his adventures and medals. All of this was of course an ego stroking, which Joaquin didn't mind at all, and he had almost given into desire quite a few times, mainly away from home. However just when that happened, he would see the man's face and refuse, telling them that he had someone at home. While you would think that the women would back off and leave him be, most still didn't care. Some backed off and let him be while majority of women and a few men every now still pursued him.

Still though, he kept loyal and kept to himself to resist temptation. It was nothing but lust and his hormones running wild. Even now that the beautiful Maria had returned, Joaquin treated her as an old friend and not a girl he was still into. Maria was a beautiful as she had been when they were children, but of course had matured in her looks. Her voice was pleasant to the ear, her skin was as soft as silk, and she had a nice shape to that fantastic body of her's. While the match before Manolo's was going on, the two of them had a chance to converse for a while. Her laugh was like bells and her voice like an angel's. The more they talked, the more Joaquin remembered why he and Manolo used to be rivals for her love and attention. If he and Manolo weren't a couple, he'd leap at the chance to have a relationship with her, an intimate one especially.

Imagine having that hot piece of ass underneath him, hearing her screaming out his name, feeling her touch all over him, and being inside of that tight body of hers. He shook his head at that horrible thought.

'What am I even thinking? I don't love her.' Joaquin shook his head as he finally reached for the doorknob to the bathroom. 'She's just an old friend. I don't love her. This is just lust…lust I need to get rid of.'

By the time he had gotten back to the bedroom, Manolo was still up staring at the ceiling. He looked up when Joaquin came back in. "Took you long enough. Got lost or something?"

"Nah. Just thinking about some shit. Why are you up?"

"I was thinking about some stuff too." He admitted.

"Oh? What were you thinking about?"

"Just how I'm going to deal with my father when I go back home."

"That's a depressing thought, Manolo."

"I know. Every time I don't think of other things, I keep thinking about it."

"It's going to be alright, Manny. He can't stay mad at you forever."

"I know…but I still let him down."

"He'll get over it. I mean it was only one match. He's being a big fucking baby about it."

"Maybe…" Manolo curled up with his boyfriend. "I just wanna forget about everything. Good night, Joaquin."

"Night, Manolo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The power of the boner is the main theme of this whole movie.
> 
> **I remember when we watched this movie in Spanish class and someone made the comment that they weren't in China when Manolo's dad said that part. XD
> 
> ***I read in the wiki that his mother wasn't dead, but moved away. Apparently he also has a sister. Neither of them matter, so I don't care about them. I think him having a sister was a lie though. If she was mentioned, I don't know nor care. The only reason I know this is because of the wiki and people lie on that thing sometimes so yeah.


	5. Chapter 5

Even though he wasn't ready for coming out of hiding, Manolo eventually forced himself to get out of the Mondragon mansion and went home after around 2 days. His dad was still acting funny towards him and pouting about how his son had messed up at the last match the whole time. His grandmother wasn't doing anything to help matters by saying stuff like, "I told you he couldn't do it," "What did you except?" and among other things. Manolo started wishing that he had taken Joaquin's offer to move in with him or at least stay a bit longer. As much as he loved his family, this whole situation was blown way out of proposition to be honest.

It wasn't even a few minutes into dinner when he got fed up with his father's attitude and left. He headed over to the lone tree at the far end of town to clear up his head. Yeah he knew that his father was mad and his mother was probably disappointed that her son wasn't the matador she wanted him to be, but what about his hopes and dreams? It was at times like these where Manolo was jealous of Joaquin. The soldier had been able to achieve his dream with support while Manolo was practically forced to do something he could respect if someone else was doing, but as for himself? He actually hated bullfighting to be honest. He would rather play music all day and sing, which was a talent he was actually good at.

He hated not being able to just be what he wanted in life. He couldn't be with Joaquin like he wanted because he was a man. He couldn't be what he wanted because his parents wanted him to be a bullfighter. Life could be unfair sometimes. The only thing he could count on these days was his boyfriend. Joaquin could be full of himself some days, but underneath that narcissistic demeanor was a kind, understanding man. Whenever Manolo had a problem, Joaquin was always there to make him feel better or try and help him out with whatever problems he was having. Even if the world was against him, there was always Joaquin to be on his side. Even if the two weren't a couple, Manolo was happy he had someone like Joaquin there for him. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost his best friend.

Meanwhile Joaquin was having a bit of trouble with Posada. Posada had invited him over for dinner, in hopes that Maria would fall for Joaquin during that time. Joaquin had tried making up excuses as to why he couldn't come, but every excuse came with a rebuttal thus cancelling out whatever excuse the young man could come up with. It wasn't that he didn't like Maria or was trying to get away from her. He did find Maria attractive and pretty likable, but the thing is that he was in a relationship with someone he really cared about. If he and Manolo weren't a thing, hell yeah he'd go after that fine piece of ass. There was no lie about that part. However his heart lied with Manolo and it would stay there until there was a good reason they should split up. Maria being hot was no good excuse. Hell Manolo was good looking too, but that wasn't the only reason they were together.

Posada tried his best to get them together with Joaquin trying his best to sound interested in the young woman. Of course he was just pretending that he was interested in her, but overall he was just doing it to throw Posada and Maria off so neither of them would be none the wiser. It seemed that it was kind of working with Posada although Maria seemed bored. Good, although Joaquin was a little ticked off Maria found his many achievements kind of dull with Maria in turn getting upset when Joaquin seemed to enjoy the things she said about what a wife would do like cook, clean, rub his feet, and all sorts of things that Maria identified as being a trophy wife. To be honest it did sound nice to Joaquin. He didn't think there was anything wrong with wanting any of that. Maybe that's the part that made her angry the most, slap him, and lecture him how women weren't trophies…blah blah blah…Joaquin nearly fell asleep.

"Now, now, Maria. I'm sure Joaquin didn't mean that." Posada assured her.

"Yeah, sure…" mumbled the soldier still rubbing the cheek she slapped. 'I wonder what got her panties in a bunch.'

After that little event, Posada tried steering them back on track, when it was pretty obvious that maybe he should try again tomorrow or better yet another day. Once that was gratefully over with, Joaquin got out of there and headed over to Manolo's house to search for the man. Manolo's grandmother answered the door and told him that Manolo left a few minutes ago. Joaquin nodded and left to go search the shorter male. As expected, Manolo was underneath their tree staring at the stars with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey." Manolo mumbled.

"You alright?"

"Now that you're here, yeah." he leaned on his lover. "It's times like this I wish time would stop so we could be together forever like this."

"Yeah."

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing…except…" Once again Joaquin pondered on whether or not to tell his boyfriend about Posada and Maria.

"…Except?"

"Well, Posada wants me to marry Maria."

"Are you?"

"Don't be stupid, Manolo. Of course I'm not going to marry her. Are you crazy or something?"

"No need to get defensive." Manolo frowned not liking the tone in Joaquin's voice.

"Then why'd you fucking ask then?"

"Joaquin, you're being a jerk. I just asked a simple question." Manolo glared at him. Even if it was a dumb question, he didn't have to be an asshole about it. He felt like there was something Joaquin wasn't telling him. "We're going to have to do something about us soon, so I felt the need to ask."

Joaquin was quiet for a minute. "You're right. I'm…sorry…I don't even know what came over me."

"I understand. It must be hard being pressured to be with a girl you don't love."

"Not as bad as having a dad pressuring you to be something you don't want to be."

"More or less…I hate my life sometimes." Manolo sighed. "You're the only reason why I'm even still going. Otherwise…I don't know..."

"Hey, don't be like that." He placed an arm around his boyfriend. "I'm pretty sure you'd have found someone better."

"Maybe…" Manolo grabbed Joaquin's hand. "I prefer you though."

"I prefer you too." Joaquin smiled too, nuzzling his lover.

The two stayed together for an hour or so before they drifted off to sleep. A few hours later, Manolo felt something tickling his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw a yellow butterfly on his nose. He gently waved it away and looked around. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Geez, what time was it? Looking at Joaquin's wrist, he saw that it was about six in the morning.

"Joaquin, wake up!" Manolo lightly tapped him on the face with his hand. "You've gotta get going."

"Huh, what?" Joaquin mumbled in his sleep. "I'm not done yet."

"Wake up, idiot!" Manolo shook. "You've got training today!"

"What?" Joaquin rubbed his eye. "Get what?"

"Training, dummy!"

"Oh! Right!" Joaquin jumped up. "Oh shit! I forgot!"

Joaquin jumped up and left only to come back and kiss Manolo on the cheek before leaving again. After a full day of training, Joaquin was brushing the sweat from his brow when he saw Maria watching him. She seemed to be impressed. Joaquin went over.

"Oh hey, Maria. I didn't expect you here today." Joaquin said truthfully. After last night, he had expected for Maria to never speak to him again…or at least for a while.

"I was passing by and saw you over here, so I decided to see what the fuss was about. I'm impressed." Maria said honestly. "I thought you and my dad were just bragging. You can really handle yourself out there. "

"Oh really?" Maria just nodded. Joaquin decided that now was the time to apologize to Maria while she was in a good mood. "Hey, Maria, I'm really sorry about what I said last night. I wasn't even thinking."

"And I'm sorry for slapping you." said Maria.

"I got something for you." Joaquin pulled out Maria's childhood bonnet.

Maria gasped in surprised and smiled as she took the bonnet from Joaquin. "Joaquin, I can't believe this. You kept this for all these years?"

"Yeah." Joaquin blushed.

"Oh, Joaquin. That's so sweet of you!" Maria gave Joaquin a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to go put this in a safe place. Thank you, Joaquin."

Maria seemed pretty happy about what Joaquin had given her and went off. Joaquin touched his cheek. Maria had just kissed him. He felt like he had died and gone to heaven. It wasn't until he was on his way home when he wondered what the hell kind of thought was that? Thank goodness that Manolo wasn't there. After taking a quick shower, he invited his boyfriend over for the night, to which Manolo happily accepted.

Before Manolo had even gotten into the house fully, Joaquin yanked him in, shut the door, and quickly and passionately made out with him. The kiss left Manolo both breathless, flustered, and confused. Joaquin meanwhile seemed relieved. "Good…it's still there."

"What's still there?"

"Uh nothing." Joaquin just shook his head and walked off, leaving Manolo even more confused. What was up with Joaquin? The rest of the night, Joaquin was quiet, which made the shorter male more confused. He tried getting him to talk more, but he always seemed to be deep in thought about something.

Manolo sat in Joaquin's lap while they were in the library of the house, something he was normally embarrassed to do. Joaquin didn't even seem to care. "Joaquin, come on. Talk to me."

"Hm?" Joaquin looked down at Manolo who was pouting all cute like. "What?"

"Come on, Joaquin. I want some attention." Manolo said trying to act as cute as possible. As much as Manolo hated trying to act cute, Joaquin always loved it. Today, Joaquin didn't seem into it at all.

"I'm sorry, Manolo." He rubbed his boyfriend's back. "I'm just a little tired…plus I've been thinking some things over."

"Oh…do you want me to leave?"

"No! No…I need you here." He held Manolo tight.

"Okay." He wondered what was up with Joaquin. He seemed stressed and…scared? Was he scared of something? The soldier wasn't one who was scared easily to be honest. Did someone find out about him and Joaquin? He kissed his cheek.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

When they got into the bedroom, Joaquin took off his clothes and put on his pajama pants and shirt. Okay, now this was suspicious too. Normally Joaquin slept with nothing on except his boxers or with nothing on in those days when Manolo wasn't sleeping over or those times when Manolo slept in another room because of some small argument they had or because of Joaquin's horniness. Other than that, he would have slept in his pjs in the Winter time or if he was cold.

"No boxers tonight, Joaquin?" Manolo said teasingly.

"Hm? I guess not." he admitted getting into bed.

"Do you mind if I slept in your shirt?" He loved it when he slept in his clothes.

"Go ahead. Knock yourself out." he said in a bored tone.

Manolo crawled into bed and rested on top of Joaquin's chest. Normally Joaquin would run his fingers through his hair or rub his back until Manolo drifted off to sleep or try and grab his ass. Tonight Joaquin kept his hands to himself and just closed his eyes. Manolo tried getting him to cuddle with him, but he still kept sleeping. After a while he gave up and went to sleep. Over the next few days, Joaquin continued acting this way every now and then. He was distant, a bit moody, and unaffectionate some days. Other days he was the same man he fell in love with. Manolo wondered what he had done wrong or if he…he couldn't bear the thought of even thinking his boyfriend would leave him. He figured it had something to do with Posada pressuring him. He hoped that was the case.


	6. Chapter 6

One afternoon while he was in his room daydreaming, someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

"Hey, Manolo." It was Joaquin.

"Hey, Joaquin!" Manolo sat up. "Wait, how'd you get in here?"

"You gave me an extra key, remember?"

"Oh right." he got up from his bed. "Did you want something?"

"Yes…I…I want you." he slurred. Manolo frowned. Joaquin was drunk. Manolo could smell it on his breath.

"You stupid idiot. Were you out drinking again?" he helped his boyfriend sit down the bed. "You know how you get when you get drunk, Joaquin!"

"Come on, don't…don't be like that, baby." Joaquin stroked Manolo's cheek. "You look so pretty tonight, sweetheart. Let me get a peek at that chest of your's."

"I'm not a woman." He slapped his hand away from his shirt. "Joaquin, come on. Let's get your drunk butt home!"

"No…not…not…not yet. Let me kiss you a little, Manolo."

"Stop, Joaquin." Manolo tried pushing his boyfriend off as he began to kiss all over him. Joaquin began nibbling on his ear and kissing on his neck and face. He had begun to give into his advantages, but reframed from doing so. "Joaquin, please…mmm…"

"Come on, baby. Let me inside. I want to feel my huge, throbbing cock inside of you." he whispered in his ear. "I want to see you on your back, screaming my name and choking on my cock when it goes down your throat."

"Joaquin, please…" Joaquin had Manolo on his back and his hand rubbing between his legs. The slightly younger male felt himself getting hard and more turned on with his dirty whispering in his ear. He tried getting away from him, but Joaquin's strong grip held him down. "Stop…please…I don't want to…mmm…aaah…"

Manolo felt Joaquin took off his pants and his underwear. He blushed when Joaquin let go of him and got in-between his legs and licked the head of his cock. Manolo moaned loudly and tried pushing him off, but he stayed there. He slowly took his cock into his mouth, impressing the younger male with him much he was taking in at once. Looks like he wasn't just a big mouth outside of the bedroom. Joaquin deepthroated his boyfriend's cock, enjoying the taste of it and the sounds he was making. He pulled away and stroked his cock as he licked his lips as he's brown eyes locked with Manolo's. He gripped the covers underneath him as the older man began sucking his cock with moves that would make a girl from those porn magazines Posada had. He felt himself coming closer to the edge.

"Joaquin...!" Manolo came inside of Joaquin's awaiting mouth. Joaquin didn't seem to mind. Hell he look like he enjoyed it. He swallowed every drop, making sure to clean up every drop off of his boyfriend's cock in case he missed some.

He got on top of him and pulled him into a passionate kiss, allowing him to taste the salty thick liquid. Manolo wasn't a huge fan of the taste, but mixed with Joaquin's spicy taste it was more tolerable. He felt Joaquin pull away and began to kiss on his neck until he heard a knock downstairs. He mentally cursed, annoyed at whoever was downstairs interrupting his private time with his boyfriend. He managed to get the taller man off of him and quickly got dressed, assuring a horny Joaquin he'd be back. He shut the door and quickly went downstairs. At the door was Maria.

"Hey, Manolo." said Maria. "I hope I wasn't intruding on anything."

"Oh no!" said Manolo, although his boyfriend would say otherwise. "I wasn't really doing anything. Just playing a bit of the guitar..."

"You still play? Maybe you could play me a little sometime." said Maria smiling. "You were always pretty good when we were children."

"Oh I'm no good. You'd hate it." said Manolo rubbing the back of his neck. He wished he could tell her to get lost without being rude about it.

"Don't be so modest. Joaquin says tells me you're pretty good...you know when he isn't bragging about all the medals he has." she said rolling her eyes. "I swear he wasn't all that egotistical when we were children. My father's rubbed off on him."

"Yeah, but he's harmless...mostly." he said laughing a little.

"You know, we've barely spoken since I've got here."

'I've had my reasons.' thought Manolo.

"Maybe we could change that. How about we hang out all day tomorrow? Just you and me."

"You and me?"

"Yeah. Just you and I." said Maria smiling somewhat shyly at him. "I mean unless you have something to do..."

"No, I'm not busy." said Manolo. "Sure. You don't want to invite Joaquin?"

"I would have, but he has training tomorrow. Speaking of him, have you seen him? Dad and Joaquin got drunk off their butts and of course my drunken father let him go home by himself. I stopped by his place and he wasn't home."

"He's upstairs sleeping like a baby." said Manolo. He didn't see any reason to lie to her.

"Good." she sighed with relief. "It's better he be here than elsewhere. Anyways, I'd better be off. Last time I left my father home alone drunk, he tried to run the streets naked."

"Well that's nasty thought." Manolo said cringed at the thought of the old man's naked body running the streets. "You'd better get back ASAP then."

"I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night, Manolo."

"Good night." As Maria walked away, Manolo waited until she was pretty far to shut the door and upstairs with his boyfriend. To his disappointment, the older man was fast asleep. Manolo sighed, deciding not to wake him up. "Damn it, Maria."

Well it was probably for the best anyways, he thought as rolled Joaquin over. Manolo wanted his first time to with the both of them being sober, not drunk. He wanted it to be special and memorable. He sighed as he took off his clothes and got into his pajamas. He laid down beside the older male and covered the two of them up before going to sleep.

The next morning, Joaquin woke up with a massive hang over. That would be the last time he'd do that much drinking with Posada and the other soldiers. Where was he anyways? He looked over and found Joaquin sleeping in his arms, smiling in his sleep. He looked adorable when he slept. He hoped he hadn't done anything wrong last night. He managed to slip from underneath him and get up. He laid a kiss on his forehead before readjusting the covers on him and slipping out of the house.

He looked down at his watch. Shit, he was late for training. He wasn't in the mood for it, so he just skipped it and went straight for a bath and try getting rid of his hang over. Manolo woke up a few hours later and noticed that Joaquin had left out of the house. He figured he must have went home and started to head over there himself when he remembered his plans with Maria. It wouldn't hurt if he went out with her. After all he didn't have romantic feelings for her. There wasn't anything wrong with that. Why did it feel like it was a bad idea then?


	7. Chapter 7

As much as Manolo liked spending time with Maria, he didn't at the same time. It wasn't because she was boring or anything of the sort. It was quite the opposite. She was just as entertaining, adventurous, and interesting as before she had left. As a friend, she was alright in that regard. However Maria didn't seem too interested in friendship. She'd touch his arm in intimate ways, wrap her arm around his, send him flirtatious looks and smiles, and giggle a lot. He was afraid she was going to try to kiss him or ask him on an actual date. He wasn't going to pretend to go on a date with her. What if Joaquin saw the two of them and thought Manolo was leaving him for Maria or at least cheating on him? Even if he knew it was just a pretend date, other people would get the wrong idea and think they were together especially Posada. He didn't want the man thinking he was in love with Maria or pursuing her.

'I hope she doesn't like me like I think she is,' He thought as Maria was talking more about her school. 'I don't want to have to turn her down or lie to her.'

"Enough about me though. What about you? How have you been doing?"

"Oh me? Nothing much," He shrugged. "Just practicing bullfighting."

"Do you like it?"

"Not really. I'd rather play the guitar."

"Mind playing some for me?"

"If you'd like," Manolo thought about what song he wanted to play and then began to play his guitar and Maria seemed to enjoy the music. Once he was finished, she touched his arm.

"That was beautiful, Manolo!" she beamed at him. "You were always pretty good at playing guitar. Maybe you should consider making a career out of it."

"I've thought about it, but my father..."He sighed. Bullfighting had never been his thing and had been his father and mother's dream for him ever since he was young. He had thought about it a lot but never felt brave enough to tell his father. Every time he thought about mentioning it, his dad would always bring up how multiple generations of their family had done it or how his mother would be so proud of him. It was as if he read his mind during those moments.

"I see," Maria said with a sympathic look on her face. "Your father expects you to keep up the family traditions."

"Yeah. I want to tell him so bad and then he brings up my mother and how she would be so proud of me."

"Don't feel so bad," she wrapped a comforting arm around him. "I'm sure your mother would be proud of your for whatever you choose to do in life and I know she would love you for who you are."

"Probably."

'Would she really though?' He mentally asked. While he figured she was right about the bullfighting part, what about him loving another man? That was the part Manolo was more worried about. Would she accept his love for Joaquin or would she be horrified and disgust by him liking another man? He was partly glad he wouldn't be able to know the answer as he was scared to know the truth. He knew what his father would think if he told him that he was with a man. While he was already mad about the bullfight, at least he could get over it. It was one match. It wasn't like it was going to kill him. If he told him about loving his best friend who wasn't Maria or any female for that matter, he'd have a heart attack. It would kill him, then he'd come back, kill his son, and then bring Manolo back just so his father could kill him again. He'd for sure disown him and never speak to him again.

"You don't sound so sure."

"Because I'm not," said Manolo. "I want to say she wouldn't care, but you haven't heard my father. All he talks about his how much he and my mother wanted me do certain things. Maybe I don't want to do any of those things."

"And you don't have to if you don't want to. Do whatever makes you happy. If your dad doesn't like it, too bad. If he loves you, he'll respect whatever you decide to do in life and he'll still support you no matter what."

He just nodded but Maria could still see he wasn't sure of himself. She decided to change the subject. "It's getting late. I'd better get home before my dad throws a fit and sends an army after me."

"Right. Good-night, Maria." When he noticed she hadn't left, he realized she wanted to be walked home. "Um do you want me to walk you home?"

"Only if you want to."

"Sure." He walked back with her home with Maria's arm around his.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it?" She mused.

"Lovely," he said trying to keep up a non-depressed tone but failed. Maria instantly felt bad for bringing up his bullfighting and his family. She squeezed his hand in comfort.

When she got home, she thanked him for the great day. "And cheer up, Manolo. Things will get better. I promise."

"Mm-hm," He mumbled to himself. Maria touched his arm and let her hand linger there for a bit as he looked away from her. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. His eyes widened at the kiss and touched his cheek. She just kissed him. Any other day in their childhood, he would have fainted and then run off to rub it in Joaquin's face about it.

Maria had turned red and told him good night before running off inside. Manolo wasn't sure if she had done it to snap him out of it or if she actually liked him. Either way, Manolo was glad Joaquin hadn't seen him. He quickly went back home and curled up into bed to go to sleep. The following day, he went to visit Joaquin, the elderly maid let him inside as he was a close friend of Joaquin despite the taller man being gone.

"Where is he?"

"Something about flowers," the old woman said as she began dusting off an expensive vase in her boss's home. "No doubt for some lucky lady. He has some very big plans for tonight. I'm surpised he hadn't told you."

"Oh?" Was Joaquin planning something for him? The more the elderly woman began talking about overhearing her boss muttering about a fancy candlelight dinner, wine, flowers, and making the place look nice, both of them came to the conclusion Joaquin was planning something romantic. The younger man wondered what the occasion was for Joaquin to do this for. Was he planning on something?

"Perhaps he'll tell you later when he comes back. It's probably for the fair Miss Posada. She's a very beautiful woman and I've seen the way he looks at her."

"Oh really?" The way he looks at her, huh? He didn't like the sound of that. Joaquin better not be getting any ideas and he had better be just looking. The maid babbled on to say that the young man would often look at her with this lustful gleam in his eyes. She went on to say that he might have some feelings towards her and he was likely to be asking her out. "I see."

He could hear Joaquin come into the house. He went to the door to greet him. The taller male was surprised to see him there. "Oh! Manolo, there you are. I was looking for you."

"Mm-hm," Manolo said. "Can I speak to you somewhere else?"

"Yeah sure. Come up to my office."

When they had gotten inside of his upstairs office, Manolo locked the door behind him. Joaquin hopped on the couch and Manolo sat beside him inside of sitting on his lap like his boyfriend clearly wanted. "Joaquin, you know I love you right?"

"And I love you too."

"You're not...you're not into Maria still are you?" He asked nervously. He hoped his boyfriend wouldn't lie to him especially in his face.

"Maria? What the hell kind of question is that?" He said with an offended look on his face. "I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"I mean yes but..."

"But what?"

"I...I...I just...I see the way you look at her and I just feel like you would rather be with her than me," He fiddled with his fingers as he looked away from his boyfriend. "I know you used to like her and maybe there's something still there."

Joaquin held his smaller hands inside of his own larger ones. "Manolo, I don't love her. She's just a nice piece of ass, that's all."

He slapped him. "I'm being serious!"

"It was just a joke, calm down!"

"Don't joke about something like that when I'm terrified of losing you, dumb ass!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry, Manny," He wrapped his arms around him. "Maria is just a friend and any love I have towards her is platonic. You're the only person I love, okay? Nobody will ever come between us."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am." He kissed his they sat there together, Manolo still had that bit of doubt in the back of his mind. Lustful looks were one thing, but what if looks turned into sex?

Manolo hadn't given into sex so far and maybe the taller man would use that as an excuse to cheat on him with Maria. If his boyfriend did that, he wouldn't know what to do. The man he loved sleeping with a woman would be devastating especially a girl the two of them had feelings for years ago. He said he was over her, but that was before they saw her again. Even after she came back, neither had discussed the possibility of lingering romantic feelings towards her. The brunette couldn't find a reason to ask before. Now he had to keep an eye on the guy. Just to be sure. It hadn't been the first time he thought about the possibility that the taller man might leave him. There were women in town that were smitten with Joaquin that were very lovely and would often flirt with him. Joaquin had his fair share himself, but overall the real focus in any female in the town's eyes were on Joaquin, who was with Manolo.

"If you ever left me, I don't know what I would do," He whispered.

"Same here," He rubbed his back. "I love you, Manolo. If I didn't, something would be seriously wrong with me."

Joaquin pulled away from him. "I have a surprise for you."

"What kind?"

"Just come back tonight. You'll love it." Manolo could have told him that Joaquin that he knew already, but he didn't want to ruin Joaquin's plans. Besides, there may be something more to their dinner plans tonight so he kept quiet. He told him that he'd see him later that night for sure. After he stayed to talk with him, Manolo listening intensely about Joaquin training soldiers and Posada's urging him to get married. "Actually more like pestering now that I think about it."

"He's been doing that for a while, hasn't he?"

"When I was younger, he'd mention it. He's been really pushing it now." He confessed.

"You've told me."

"No I mean he's been really pushing it. It used to be once or twice. Now he's been going at it like crazy these past few days. I'm thinking about leaving here just to get away from hearing it."

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"Still thinking on it...and I was thinking of taking you," He grinned at him.

"Me?"

"Why not? It can be a little vacation for the two of us," He pressed him closer to where his ear was. "Maybe a little time alone to fuck each other's brains out in the process."

"J-joaquin!" He turned bright red as his boyfriend smirked at his expression. "You know how I feel about that kind of thing!"

"I know," He purred. "I just like the look on your face when I say it. Besides, are you sure you aren't ready or are you just scared?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah...that my dick will be too big for you and might tear something."

"How do I know you're not exaggerating? For all we know, I could be much bigger than you myself."

"We'll just have to see don't we? Do you want me to pull it out for you?"

"Heck no! Don't say things like that."

"Hey we may as well get it over with, don't we?" He went for his belt. Manolo stopped him. "I was just kidding. It isn't like you could handle the sight of it anyways."

"Keep telling yourself that," He rolled his eyes. After talking for a bit more, the two of the parted ways with Joaquin staying in the house for his boyfriend's surprise. He couldn't wait for the other man to see what he had for him that night. Now to get everything right before it was time for Manolo to come over.


	8. Chapter 8

Joaquin smiled proudly as he took a step back to look at his master piece. He had a nice candle light dinner waiting on him and his date by a large window over-looking the town and the ocean. Behind him were a trail of fresh rose petals and more candles lined up to lead to their awaiting table. Joaquin thought of doing the same thing with the bedroom, but then he remembered Manolo wanted to wait until he was ready so that idea was out the window. It was too bad. It would have went perfectly with the mood he was trying to set for them.

He had gotten the idea from one of the trashy romance novels his mother left behind and while it was a bit on the cheesy side, he knew Manolo would love it. At least he hoped he did. Tonight he was finally going to pop the question to his long time partner in crime. He wasn't sure if Manolo would accept the ring he had long since tucked away. He had wanted to marry the man for the longest time only for him to back out. It was only because the moment never seemed to be right for it or he was always pulled away from his love to go protect the town or travel elsewhere. Tonight though it was all about them and he had made sure of that. As long as Manolo showed up, nothing was getting in their way.

After taking a relaxing bath, he got himself ready and just in time too. Just as he eagerly went to the door, he heard a knock. He quickened his pace and opened the door. Good it was just Manolo. He merely blinked at him. "Uh what's up with the fancy gitup? You just went to a fancy party?"

He was referring to his suit his boyfriend only wore to fancy occasions. "Maybe. You comin' in or what?"

"Sure," Manolo was playing it cool as he knew what was going to happen next. Joaquin had set up something fancy for him and he had to pretend he didn't know. "Why is it so dark in here? Did the power go out?"

"Oh you'll see in a minute," He grinned as he took out a blindfold. "Put this on."

Manolo hesitated. "Joaquin the last time you blindfolded me, I ended up in the bathroom for two hours sick and throwing up."

"Nobody told you that you had to drink that vodka."

"I didn't even know what that was and you know it!"

"You should have stopped after the first time then," He shrugged. "We aren't doing that this time though I swear!"

He paused for a minute. "You're not going to be naked when I take this off are you?"

"Ye of little faith, Manolo. I'm serious about this. No nudity…unless you want it…and no drinking games. Just something a bit more fun."

"I dunno…" Manolo frowned. "Okay, but I swear it better be good or I'm leaving."

"It will be I promise," Manolo allowed the man to blindfold him all the while his heart was pounding like crazy. He just hoped Joaquin couldn't hear it otherwise he might think something was up. He was grabbed by the hand and slowly lead through the house. After a minute or two, he was told he could take it off. Manolo was blown away by the scene in front of him. Who knew his boyfriend could be so romantic when he felt like it.

"You…you…you did all this for me?" He blushed. He had been expecting this and yet was still breath taken by it.

"Of course I did! Only the best for you," He smiled gently at him.

"You really are the best aren't you?"

"Was there really any doubt?"

"Don't get so big headed, Joaquin," The two sat down for their dinner which was a little too much for Manolo. Joaquin had cooked up the most romantic evening the two had ever had during their relationship and all by himself at that. They could barely keep each other's eyes off of each other or their hands for that matter. Everything was just so perfect that Manolo was scared something was going to happen to ruin it.

Joaquin, on the other hand, had stopped thinking that a while ago. The very moment he saw his boyfriend's eyes light up at the site of what he did, he felt if time was standing still just for the two of them just to enjoy this moment. As he looked into Manolo's eyes, he knew he wanted to be with this man forever and he was going to make sure of that.

"So what brought all this on? This isn't a trap just to get laid, is it?" He asked teasingly. Joaquin just shook his head. "Uh let's see…you're going away again but for longer?"

Although he was just kidding, he wouldn't put it past the taller man. They always spent a lot of time together before Joaquin left and he would often do something special for him. However nothing this elaborate though. If he was going away for a long time, this would be a good time to let him know.

"Nope, something even better than that. Close your eyes." Manolo closed his eyes and Joaquin pulled out the small black box. He got down on one knee flashed the small silver band at the man he loved the most in the world. "Okay open them."

Manolo turned pink once he saw what was in front of him. No that couldn't be...Joaquin was proposing to him? This caught Manolo off guard in more ways than one. He wanted to get married? He would happily do so without a second thought, but he was in too much shock to say anything.

"Manolo are you okay?" Joaquin shook his shoulder making him feel nervous. He wasn't going to say no was he?

"Yes! I mean yes I'm fine. This is just really unexpected!" He had to give him an answer quickly. "I didn't think you'd ask me! Yes! I will marry you!"

Joaquin could only smile in delight as he slipped the ring onto Manolo awaiting, though shaky, finger. He had said yes! He was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the excitement. The two couldn't tell anyone but he didn't care at the moment. His boyfriend, now fiance, just said yes!

"I can't believe this is happening," He said in almost a whisper. "Pinch me, I've got to be dreaming."

"Well you're not," grinned the older male. "You're going to be a Mondragon now."

"Who says I want your last name?"

"Who wouldn't want it?" he smirked.

Suddenly it hit Manolo. "Son of a...I can't believe you beat me to it."

His best friend gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? Were you going to...?"

"I've been wanting to since before Maria came back."

"Why didn't you?"

Manolo bit his lip. "I...I was scared you turn me down."

"Never!" He was surprised Manolo even thought that. "I love you and only you! I would have said yes."

"I know. Joaquin," He kissed his boyfriend's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

As the two men embraced each other, a dark figure outside cursed underneath his breath at the two men. This figure was none other than Xilbalba, the ruler of the land of the forgotten. How did this slip from underneath his radar? He thought he had this thing in the bag, especially since the other guy pretty much showed very little interest in the girl in question while Joaquin had shown some. He shouldn't have gotten so damn cocky upon seeing the two together. How long had the two been together? He should have kept a much closer eye on them. Knowing this, he had to find a way to split them up before the two ran off together. He wasn't losing this bet, not with switching lands with his wife at stake!


	9. Chapter 9

"No that's stupid!" He sighed tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. Xilbalba was desperately scrambling to find a good idea to get rid of the romance between the two men and couldn't think of anything. He couldn't ask his wife because that would be revealing his intentions to cheat. She hated when he cheated and would instantly call the whole thing off. Even if they hadn't had this little bet between them, his wife would get angry at him for breaking up a couple just for his own selfish agenda. Plus she was a romantic at heart and a goody-two-shoes. No, he had to cook up a plan himself.

Maybe he could use Joaquin's hots for the young woman and seduce him. Maybe? Perhaps it would still have the same effect? He had to see this for himself. But how would he get to happen? Then he thought of it just as one of his servants brought in a bottle of wine.

"That's it!" he grinned at the bottle. "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

He'd get the two drunk. The two obviously found each other attractive and would likely sleep together if given the chance. It didn't mean a relationship would come out of it, but heck if Manolo saw them sleeping together, the relationship would end on the spot. There was no way Manolo would go through getting married after that. Then again, he had cheated on his wife and managed to stay with her. Hopefully Manolo wouldn't be the same way and leave him. Now how to set the two of them up was the point. Then he thought of it. Grinning to himself, he decided to get rid of the old man and set his plan into motion.

Meanwhile Manolo felt like the happiest man in the world. He was getting married to the man he loved the most in the world. He felt like skipping through the streets and telling the whole world. His grandmother noticed how much of a great mood her grandson was in considering the last weeks, he and his father were sulking around the house. She wondered what made him so happy and grinning like an idiot into space. When she asked his father about his son's positive attitude lately, the man only grinned and said that he knew that look on his face. It was the looks of a man whose heart was touch by a woman.

Manolo had overheard his father saying this and couldn't help but to feel a bit upset at his father's statement. Heck after hearing his father being happy over the fact that his son was in a relationship. His mistake was quickly forgotten as his father and he "bonded" over their respective partners. Well at least it was his father doing it rather than both of them. He was glad he didn't have to make up a lie on the spot about his potential girlfriend. He honestly wouldn't know what to say about "her" if he tried. Good thing his father was excited to tell him all about his mother and his relationship. Manolo hoped their marriage would be as loving as their's was. Now that he thought about it, where would they go after they left? The two really needed to discuss their future together.

"...and remember this. She's alright right," the man finished. Manolo blinked.

"Oh mm-hm yeah," nodded Manolo. "I got it. Um thanks for the talk dad. I better get going..."

"So when are you bringing her over?" Manolo caught that part loud and clear.

"Um well she's a bit busy so we'll have talk about it." He lied. He wasn't sure what else to say to this so he had no choice but to lie. He hurried away before his father could finally ask about any details about this girlfriend of his that he didn't have. He quickly headed over to the Mondragon estate only to bump into General Posada looking around. When he spotted the younger male, he waved him over.

"Manolo, have you seen Maria?" he asked looking worried. "We were supposed to have dinner with an old acquaintance of mine but she never showed up. That's been 2 hours ago."

"Really? I'll help you look for her then." As he helped look for her, he just hoped she wasn't in any kind of danger. Where on earth could she be? He looked in all the old places the three of them used to play at, but he didn't see her. He had asked if the man had checked Joaquin's home. He secretly hoped she hadn't gone there. Maria hadn't the slightest clue that her childhood friend was getting married. He just hoped if she was over at Joaquin's place, it was just a friendly conversation about their childhood adventure. After all, Joaquin and Maria had more in common when they were children.

"Hm...no, but maybe..." He then got put on a smile which made Manolo very uncomfortable. "Maybe we should just let Maria be. She's always been a strong, independent, young woman. She'll be perfectly fine and come home when she feels up to it."

"W-what? But..."

"Don't worry about it, kid," laughed the old man. "You'll be that lucky some day."

"But Maria might not..." With that, the old man walked off, thanked the brunette for helping him out, and bid him a good night.

Manolo couldn't help but to have second thoughts about Maria's location. He quickly hurried to his original destination and found the Mandragon estate with all lights off. Usually that meant the man was either out for the night, probably drinking or doing some late night training. Then he noticed that his door was slightly opened. It was nothing new since there were times Joaquin would accidentally leave his door open when from when he was either in a hurry or just came home from drinking. He decided to go in just in case the man was home. If not, he'd just surprise him for when he came home. Once inside, he made his way to the bedroom. Just as he grabbed the door knob, he heard someone mumbling. It sounded a lot like Joaquin. Just as he cracked open the door, he felt his heart drop. Curled up in the bed, butt ass naked, was Joaquin and Maria. He felt sick to his stomach and like fainting. This couldn't be happening to him. Was this a nightmare? Then how come no matter how hard he pinched himself, he wasn't waking up? He felt his legs give out from underneath him and he didn't even try getting back up.

"This can't be happening...we just got engaged..." He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. "He's sleeping with her. Oh my gosh...I can't...I can't...what's going on here? He slept with her. That piece of...!"

He wasn't sure if he wanted to go in the room and drag the man out of bed or beat him to a pulp on the spot. Manolo, to upset to think straight, finally got up and got out of there as soon as he could. He didn't know he would be able to look either of them in the face in the morning. He knew Maria didn't know, but Joaquin had no excuse for sleeping with her. He betrayed him. He said he loved him. How could he love the man yet sleep with Maria? He should have known this would happen. Now what? He stared at the finger on his ring that he wore only when he was alone. He thought about throwing it as far as he could, but he didn't have the heart to do so. Instead he shoved it into his bottom drawer and left it there while he hid underneath his covers to cry in peace and quiet.

Joaquin managed to somehow avoid speaking more than "I'll see you later" to Maria the next morning. Maria seemed to be rather flustered about the situation and avoided Joaquin's eyes as well. Both hadn't meant to end up sleeping together, but after drinking that strong alcohol Posada had...Joaquin partially blamed the old fart for bringing that stuff over. He also placed most of it on himself. He knew he got all touchy-feely on those he found attractive. Manolo knew that first hand. Speaking of Manolo, he couldn't know what happened. If he did, Manolo would ring his neck for it and call off their planned marriage. He didn't like lying to his fiance, but he didn't want to break the man's heart. Little did he know that he was much too late. Even more so, he had no clue that by drinking, he had completed Xilbalba's plan.

That wasn't just any kind of wine he had given the two. It contained strong aphrodisiacs inside which made the two want each other. The pan was quite simple. First he knocked out the old man and took on his form. The three had dinner at Joaquin's place where he first introduced the beverage to them. He pretended to be retiring early and left the two to their devices for a while. Secretly he watched them and sure enough, the two were all over each other and headed up to the bedroom for hot, passionate sex. He then went looking for Manolo and successfully got him to head to the estate. As upset as the man was, there was no doubt this relationship wasn't going anywhere positive. Just for some reassurance, he had a little something just for the young man. Hopefully both Joaquin and Maria would be elsewhere.


	10. Chapter 10

Manolo felt miserable as he laid in bed thinking about now former fiancé. Technically he was still engaged, but not for long. As soon as he saw Joaquin, he was ending their relationship on the spot. It was going to be hard considering his long-time relationship with the man. They had been together since they were teenagers. Not everyone had started together for that long and as it turns out neither did they. Manolo would treasure the times they had together, but they couldn’t come back from this. He slept with a woman and not just any women. It was their childhood best friend, the main woman Manolo was worried about. There were many attractive women that often flirted with the man but, as far as he knew, Joaquin hadn’t slept with them. Now he was starting to question their relationship. What if Joaquin had slept with those women or some of them? Joaquin flirted back with them to “keep up the act” but was it an act?

“Even if it was, he’s a still dirty cheater!” he told himself. “I can’t believe he’d sleep with her. I thought he loved me.”

Manolo looked down at the ring on his finger. He wanted to throw away the ring out of the window or at the man’s face. He was starting to tear up looking at it but didn’t want to take it off. Damn that man for cheating on him. Speaking of the man, his grandmother called up to him saying that Joaquin was downstairs. He started to tell her that he wasn’t in the mood to be bothered but stopped. He’d much rather get this over now than wait.

As soon as he got downstairs, his grandmother had left the two men to talk. Joaquin was smiling that handsome smile of his that Manolo’s stomach flip flop. Joaquin inched closer to him as he practically purred out his name as he moved closer. Manolo didn’t even look at him as he turned his head. Joaquin didn’t notice anything wrong, pulled him in for an embrace, and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Manolo, what’s the matter?” he asked concerned when he noticed the sad look on his face. “Is everything okay? Did someone die?”

“I have to talk to you…but…but not here,” he said slowly. With his grandmother in the house, he didn’t want her seeing how ugly this was going to get. He lead Joaquin as far away as he could from the house in complete silence. He didn’t answer as Joaquin babbled on about General Posada. He didn’t even notice Manolo’s complete silence as they headed to their tree. The same tree that they used to sneak out to which lead to some heavy make out sessions. Even before that, they were there to just escape it all. It was the furthest spot from everybody. Maybe it was a good thing his great grandmother was home. He was sure he’d probably throw something. Out there, there wasn’t anything to throw.

As soon as the men arrived back at the tree, Manolo slapped the older man as hard as he could.

“What the hell!” Joaquin exclaimed holding his cheek.

“I fucking hate you!” he snarled. “You’re a jackass!”

“What the hell’s your problem!?” Joaquin wasn’t sure what to think. What was up with his fiancé’s attitude? At first he though someone in his family may have gotten hurt or had gotten killed. What could he possibly have done to earn that slap unless…no. He couldn’t have unless Maria told him. Did someone lie about him sleeping with a woman?

“Your dick!” he exclaimed. “You…you…you…you said you loved me.”

“I do love you!” he reached out for him, but the younger male jerked away.

“You weren’t saying that when you screwed Maria!” he snapped. Joaquin’s eyes widened, and his face paled. “Yeah I know! I saw you in bed with her butt ass naked!”

“I-I-I can explain!”

“You don’t have to explain anything!” he snapped. “Because I’m done with you. I should have known you’d do this. You’re always either staring at her ass or talking about how pretty she is. You’re attracted to her. You should have let me go.”

“It was a mistake! We got drunk and…”

“Save it! Enjoy your life with her!” he threw the ring at his chest and stormed off. Joaquin felt like throwing up. Manolo was gone all because of him getting drunk. He felt tears streaming down his face from losing the only love he ever had. While Maria was hot, Manolo was the love of his life. They were supposed to get married for pete’s sake. He wanted to run off after the man, but he knew no matter what he said, Manolo would still hate him. He went back to the mansion, head hanging down as he stared down at the ring in his hand. On the inside was his now former fiancé’s last name carved inside. This ring was meant for him, nobody else. A few people still lingering the streets called out to the man but got no response.

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” he whispered to himself as he stared at the ring as he closed his door. “Dammit!”

He swore as he kicked the wall, knocking down a painting and he made a large hole in the wall.

^^^&&^^^

Maria sent her childhood a worried look at her two best friends as they poked their cake. She had invited the two men over for chocolate cake and tea. Both had agreed on coming much to Maria’s delight. Ever since she had come back, she hadn’t been able to get the three of them together so they could take about their lives before and after Maria went away. Joaquin was the first to arrive and the two had spent 15 minutes talking when Manolo came. As soon as Manolo and Joaquin’s eyes locked, Manolo’s smile dropped, and Joaquin quickly looked away from him and sipped his tea.

“Um is everything alright?” she asked looking back and forth between the two.

“It’s nothing,” he waved it off.

The whole time, Maria tried getting the two men to talk to each other, but Manolo refused to talk, and Joaquin tried and received dirty looks from Manolo. Whatever was going on, she wanted to get to the bottom of it. “Did you get into a fight?”

“Something like that,” Manolo glared at Joaquin.

“I said I was sorry!”

“Well you can take that sorry and shove it right up your behind!” he yelled.

“Manolo!” Maria exclaimed.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he got up and walked out.

“But you just got here!” she chased after him. “At least stay for a little while!”

“I have to get back. My grandma’s home by herself. I’ll see you later.” With that in mind, he hurried off.

“What exactly happened between you two?” Maria asked the dark-haired man as she came back into the living room. Joaquin just shook his head as he poked at the rest of his cake.

“Its nothing I can get into right now. I…I messed up with him. He hates me.”

“You two have been through too much to let anything come between you two,” said Maria. “You were best friends for years. Whatever you did, I’m sure Manolo doesn’t hate you. You’ve had bad fights before, right?”

“Yeah but…”

“You just have to give him some space and then make it up to him once he’s cooled down.”

As good as that advice was, Manolo forgiving him didn’t seem possible. Like with every couple and even best friends, they have their little spats. However, there was no way they were going to kiss and make up. Manolo was always jealous of the beautiful girls that often flirted with Joaquin who flirted back as not to raise suspicion. He’d often have to soothe the man’s worries whether it be with a kiss or just telling the man how much he loved him and what he loved about him. He still did love him and wanted to get married to him. He saw couples both inside and outside of San Angel who were caught cheating, yet their lovers took them back. Could he win back Manolo still? Maybe Manolo would cool off a bit and then Joaquin could beg for forgiveness. He wished he could talk to Maria about this, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk to the woman about it. Would she even accept them? He knew that even the nicest people would be disturbed and harass them about being with another man. Even if she did, he had to do this on his own.

“Do you want me to speak to him?”

“I don’t know if it’ll help…but you can try,” he shrugged. He looked down at his watch. “I’d better get going. Thanks for having me over.”

Once he was back home, he thought about Manolo. Those big brown eyes, the cute way he blushed, the sly smiles he often sent towards his boyfriend, and his lovely voice when he sung. He was going to miss those nights when they would lay in bed together, cuddling in bed especially on cold nights. The times when he would pull Manolo in for a passionate kiss after getting home from a long trip or the times when they were just going for a walk or hanging out when he would just randomly kiss the man even when they were in a spot where everyone could see. Manolo would get embarrassed but overall, he would never get truly mad. He’d miss those days when he’d get sick and Manolo would stay cooking for him and feeding him. He acted like he hated it, but liked being coddled by his boyfriend.

“God please don’t let those days be over,” he whispered as he held the ring in his hand.

Meanwhile Manolo was staring out of his bedroom window. He remembered when Joaquin had climbed through this very window and kissed him after confessing that he liked Manolo as more than a friend. He’d give anything for those days when they were lovesick teenagers. His father had tried telling him that there were other fish in the sea after Manolo told him that his “girlfriend” cheated on him and that she wasn’t worth the heartache. As much as he wanted to move on, it still hurt too much. Joaquin had been the love of his life and he still had feelings for him. He tried flirting with various women to get his mind off Joaquin, but it wasn’t working. Maybe Maria would be better at helping him deal with a broken heart.  Maybe even set him up with someone else. He didn’t care who it was. Just as long as it wasn’t anybody that would remind him of Joaquin and would make him happier than Joaquin ever could.


	11. Chapter 11

Xilbaba was excited that his little plan that worked like a charm. Observing Joaquin and Manolo, he was about to burst with glee seeing the two men avoiding each other. The only downside was that Joaquin wasn't his usual self. He no longer spent his time laughing and joking with his friends in the army, he never smiled much anymore, and he was usually still holed up in his house if he wasn't running off and fighting bandits and criminals outside of town. He was getting worried that because of Joaquin's antisocial behavior combined with him always running out of town, he'd do some crazy shit and get himself killed. Even if he didn't, he wasn't spending all that much time with Maria and Manolo might go back to liking her. He just had to nudge the man in the right direction.

Speaking of Maria, she had headed over to Manolo's house to talk with him. He gave her a small smile when he saw her. It had been a while since he had seen her considering he did his best to stay out of the house to avoid his father and great-grandmother's worried looks. "Hey, Maria."

"Good afternoon, Manolo," she noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes indicating he hadn't been sleeping properly if at all. She wondered if it had something to do with Joaquin. "You look terrible. Are you okay?"

"It's nothing."

"Those bags under your eyes say otherwise," she crossed her arms as she frowned at him. "Joaquin says you're pretty mad at him. He wouldn't tell me."

"It's nothing you can fix," He didn't hate or dislike Maria for sleeping with Joaquin. She hadn't known about them. If she had, he was sure she would have pulled away at the first sign of trouble.

"At you at least tell me what it's about?"

Manolo hesitated. "He…he slept with someone."

"Oh?" she raised a brow.

"We were supposed to be getting married. We just got engaged." Technically he wasn't lying. He just wasn't being specific.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She could see why Manolo would get so upset over this. Joaquin really had messed up with his best friend. Had she "I'm so sorry, Manolo!"

"It's okay."

"I can see why you would hate him," she wasn't sure what else to say. Joaquin had violated their friendship and laid with his best friend's fiancée. The older man had never told her that part. This wasn't something you did to one of your best friends and then expect instant forgiveness. Manolo was going to be mad about this for a while. She couldn't blame him. If she had a boyfriend or fiancé and someone close to her slept with him, she'd be furious.

"I can't believe he'd do this to me," he sighed rubbing his forehead. "We've been friends for years and then he does this. Said he was drunk. He knows how he gets when he gets drunk. He can't resist not touching on people he finds attractive."

"Whoever this girl is was a complete fool. You're too sweet and kind to be with someone like that."

"I'm over her, but not Joaquin." He confessed. "He's my best friend. How can I ever trust him again?"

"I won't say you can't, but I understand if it'll take a while." She touched his arm out of comfort.

He only nodded. Drunk or not, it still hurt especially since he couldn't get the image of Maria and Joaquin out of his head. He hoped that he had the curtesy of pulling out of her before he ejaculated. If Maria turned out pregnant, it would further tear him apart. He knew Joaquin felt bad about it, but he just wasn't ready to come back to him.

"Let's just forget about Joaquin for a moment, Manolo. We can go out and take a walk and talk about some other things."

He just nodded and followed behind her. Maria attempted to get the man off his mind by telling him more about her life in Spain. Manolo listened mostly, only occasionally adding onto the conversation. It did help him take his mind off the man for a while. He was glad he at least had one good friend left. Everything seemed to be falling apart for him these days. Just when one thing brightened his day, something soon came along sooner or later to smash it. He was doing a great job as a matador and had his father's approval. Maria came back, and he ended up not killing the bull because of her which caused his father stop talking to him for a while. The next moment, despite his temporary troubled relationship with his father, Joaquin's presence cheered him up. He felt loved and happy unlike at home. Then Joaquin started acting odd. Some days he was the same loving man he cared for. He would kiss all over him, tease him in a loving manner, hold him at night, and other things of that nature. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he was cold. He wouldn't try kissing him, there was no more touching between them, no more strong hugs from his lover, Joaquin barely smiled at him, and he seemed to no longer enjoy his company despite saying that he did. Finally, there the two of them getting married. Now they weren't since the younger man found his fiancé with a woman in bed. The same woman he was wary of Joaquin falling for.

As they talked, Manolo noticed the way Maria was on his arm. When did she lock her arm with his? Before he knew it, she was starting to flirt with him. She complimented his looks, telling him how handsome he had gotten since they were children adding on, "…not that you weren't cute before". She even complimented his muscles too, something Manolo himself hadn't even noticed. He had gotten bigger, no doubt thanks to spending his time training to be a matador and the times he would work out with Joaquin. Though to be honest, he spent of his time watching him. His rippling muscles being drenched with sweat, the flexing of his muscles…Manolo blushed at the thought quickly pushing the image out of his head.

"You look cute when you blush," she giggled. Manolo blushed even harder. "That girl was really lucky to have such a cute, nice guy like you. Does it still hurt any?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm glad  ** _someone_**  appreciates me."

Maria noticed the saddened look on his face which caused her to quickly change the subject. "How about you play me a song on your guitar?"

"Oh sure," Manolo racked his brain for a song, but the only ones he could think of were romantic ones. He'd sing one of them for Maria anyways since she asked. Hopefully he wouldn't start tearing up considering all of them were written for his ex-boyfriend. The two of them sat down on a bench and Manolo began playing a song, singing to her a song about falling in love. Maria bobbed her head along to the music, smiling the whole time. When he finished, she eagerly asked him to sing another. Manolo complied considering she was one of the few who encouraged his music and gave him his guitar. He just wished he had something other than romantic songs in his head.

8888

Joaquin was coming home from the bar, just barely drunk. He usually got shit faced when drinking with his fellow soldiers, but tonight was different. While everyone else sang drunkenly, hit on various women, cracked unfunny jokes that were only hilarious while you were drunk, and fell asleep, Joaquin barely did anything other than stare into his mostly empty cup. Occasionally a friend would point out a pretty girl to him that was eyeballing him, but Joaquin would always say that he wasn't interested. He eventually got tired of seeing the overly happy and excited scenery and decided to go on home. It had been a week since Manolo had broke it off with him. He wondered if Manolo missed him any. He knew he did. There were times he thought about knocking at his door only to remember what had happened between them. It was impossible to not think of him. There were too many things in his home and in town that reminded him of Manolo.

Manolo's musky scent still lingered in the sheets of the bed he barely slept in anymore, a few items of his clothes were still neatly tucked away in his dresser, a couple of pages of musical notes were still in the house, and then there were their framed pictures in the home. One that Joaquin kept on his side of the bed was of them taken not too long ago. It was turned down on the night table out of shame. He hadn't meant to sleep with Maria and he deeply regretted being alone with her in the first place. He tried talking with his childhood best friend about them, but Manolo was doing a pretty good job avoiding him. He could never catch him at home either. On his way home, he started hearing Manolo's sweet, majestic voice off in the distance. It sounded a lot like that song Manolo had written him for his birthday a year ago. He quickly rushed over to the sound and found the man singing to Maria. Joaquin felt jealousy and anger run through him seeing the two of them together. To make matters worse, Maria was enticed with Manolo, watching him with a rather loving look on her face. Manolo looked way too into the song while singing to her.

"Nothin' like young love, eh?" Joaquin jumped at the sound of the old man's voice behind him. The just about toothless old man was smiling at the pair on the street.

"They're not together," Joaquin said quickly. Were they?

"Doesn't look like it," the old man chuckled. Joaquin hated to admit it, but he could see how the older male would think that. Maria's look of love, Manolo's eyes in a dreamy daze, and a romantic song being sung to her while under the moonlight? If that didn't spell romance, he didn't know what did. "A young woman being sung to by a handsome young man? Surely not."

"No…no…I-I don't think so."

"Sounds like wishful thinking in the process. She's a pretty girl. I'd be jealous too."

"I'm not jealous!" he lied. 'Manolo's gay. I think. Isn't he?'

"Hmph," the old man smirked at him. "Whatever you say."

With that, the man shuffled away towards where the two were, leaving Joaquin to watch them. The old man approached them, said something to them which made both blush. Joaquin harder strained to listen.

"That's too bad," smiled the old man. "You both would look lovely together."

"Uh well…" Manolo began rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't tell me you aren't the slightest bit interested," he smirked at the man. "Only an idiot wouldn't want her. That or a gay man."

Manolo began laughing nervously along side Maria. Joaquin ended up getting caught off guard by a hand touching his arm. He turned to see General Posada giving him a concerned look. "Joaquin there you are. You've been acting very strangely as of late and I noticed you left in a hurry. What's going on? You know you can talk to me about anything."

"It's nothing."

"Joaquin, I think you're forgetting I pretty much raised you. You're like a son to me. You can talk to me about anything."

"I…"

"What are you doing anyways?"

"I…" He didn't get to finish as Posada peeked around him and listened in on the conversation. Joaquin was hoping the nosy old man would leave and Manolo would also go home.

"You can't tell me it didn't sound as if you were serenading her," the old man's smile widened. "Why else would you sing her such a romantic song?"

"It's all I had on my mind really," he confessed. He momentarily looked as if he regretted that slip up and, unknown to everyone observing them, he did. He didn't want Maria thinking the wrong thing. However, it looked like she did judging by that shy smile she had on her face and her blush.

"Oh really," Posada frowned. "I can see what would make you so depressed."

"I'm not depr-…"

"Come on, Joaquin, we're going back to my place."

"Your place? But what…?"

"Come on, we'll win you over Maria even if it kills us!"

Joaquin swore under his breath as he followed the short man back to his place. Meanwhile the old man thankfully left the pair alone and bid them a goodnight. Manolo offered to walk Maria back home since it was so late, though secretly he was only saying this because he didn't wish for anybody else to get the wrong message about the two of them. Once they got back to the Posada mansion, Manolo had barely told Maria goodbye when Posada poked his head out of the door and hurried to get inside of the house.

"I'm just talking to…" she didn't get to finish when he yanked her inside of the house.

"Goodbye, Manolo! Maria will have to speak to you later. Have a nice night!" he practically slammed the door. That was unexpected. Being a good friend of Joaquin and overall with him being a friendly old man, Posada would often engage in small talk with the man though sometimes he would talk for much longer time than Manolo would have liked. He wondered what the heck his problem was. He decided to just shrug it off and go home.


End file.
